Rio de Janeiro bus hostages released

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Rio de Janeiro say a man armed with a knife has released two hostages he took aboard a passenger bus in the western part of the city.

Live television images Saturday showed officers negotiating with the man through the windows of the bus as it blocked a lane on one of Rio’s main avenues.

After two hours, the man released the hostages unharmed — a young woman and also the driver of the bus.

He then turned himself over to authorities. Police say the man appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

The situation was reminiscent of a famous Rio hostage situation in 2000, when a young man held several people hostage aboard a bus. Police eventually killed one hostage and the suspect in that case, all broadcast live on TV.